Control and power device for a rotating electrical machine

Abstract

A control and power device for a rotating electrical machine comprising a management circuit and a power circuit including a number of power transistors and driver circuits associated with the power transistors. The device provides connection between the management circuit and the driver circuits for switching on the driver circuits and transmitting at least one transit potential between the management circuit and the driver circuits. The invention is applicable to alternator-starter.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention relates to a control and power device for a rotary electrical machine, comprising a control circuit and a power circuit, the power circuit including a plurality of power transistors and control circuits associated with the transistors. The invention finds applications in the field of the automotive industry, and in particular in the field of alternators and alternator starters.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]In a motor vehicle having a heat engine and an alternator, both included in one casing, the alternator comprising the following:[0005]a rotor, which represents an inductor or inductance, which is conventionally associated with two slip rings, and two brushes by which an excitation current is applied; and[0006]a multi-phase stator carrying a plurality of coils or windings, representing an armature, which are either star connected or delta connected in the most frequent case of a three-phas...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017]Accordingly, a technical problem to be resolved by the subject of the present invention is to propose a control and power device for a rotary electrical machine, comprising a management circuit and a power circuit, the power circuit including a plurality of power transistors, and control circuits associated with the power transistors, together with an associated control and powering method which enables the size of the device within the casing of the alternator starter to be reduced, while at the same time providing it with the required control and power functions.

[0019]Thus, as will be seen in detail later herein, the present invention has the advantage that it reduces the number of connections in the control and power device, due to the use of a single connecting means which performs two different functions and which thereby reduces the physical size of the device and facilitates its incorporation within the casing of an alternator starter.

[0024]In one preferred, but non-limiting embodiment, the comparator includes hysteresis for determining the first reference voltage. This hysteresis has the advantage that it stabilizes the comparison which is carried out.

[0027]In one preferred, but non-limiting embodiment, a control circuit further includes means for detecting breakage of the connecting means. This has the advantage of detecting whether the connecting means are defective.

[0028]In a preferred, but non-limiting embodiment, the detecting means are adapted to transmit a signal as to breakage of the connection to the management circuit. This has the advantage of permitting the management circuit to apply a predetermined strategy following the rupture.

Problems solved by technology

However, because of the increasingly severe restrictions of miniaturization, and manufacturing constraints, in particular as regards the dimensions of the casing that have to be followed, the size of the electronic control and power module is a problem due to the numerous components which are necessary in the module, and due also to the interconnections by which these various components are connected together.

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